That Damn Disney
by Redfaerie
Summary: Horribly disfigured from an awful accident, Inuyasha is tormented, ridiculed, and alone.Cynical and bitter, he despises everyone and everything popular and cheerful. Especially the Disney corporation and the pretty girl that works in their store...
1. The Mob Song

**Hello all! Redfaerie here! For those of you who read **_How Not to Die_ **and/or** _When E-mails Go Wrong _**I'm sorry they haven't been updated in so long. I'm working on that, but I've been really busy and preoccupied and such. Because of this, I have decided NOT to make this a one shot, and to post what I already have. ( I started this before all that stuff that has delayed me ) It shouldn't be too much longer and I hope this holds you over until then. **

**READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END! IT'S IMPORTANT!**

**Disclaimer : Inuyasha does not belong to me. If it did Kikyo would never have been brought back to life and it wouldn't have taken freaking forever for Inuyasha and Kagome to get together. Alas, I also don't own Disney. If I did, the Jonas Brothers would cease to exist, along with Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, and Demi Lavato. Last but not least, all the Disney songs and lyrics belong to the Disney corporation. I got the lyrics from .de/fp/Disney/Lyrics/ . This disclaimer carries out through the whole fic. Ha! Let's see me get sued now!

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**Chapter 1**

Inuyasha scowled as he walked through the mall, earning the disapproving looks of others as they went out of his way to avoid him. Of course, they would have done the same regardless of his facial expression. Everyone always did.

His scowl deepened as he approached the Disney store. It had happy music playing, singing songs about hope and love and shit like that. Wishing on stars and romantic advice coming from crabs and other animals. The huge screen that consumed most of the back wall was showing some guy – A prince no doubt – kissing a red haired girl with flippers. Accepting her even though she was half fish.

It was all nauseating. But what disgusted him the most was the huge poster on the front window. _Beauty and the Beast_, it read it fancy, swirling, letters. There was a beautiful ( for a cartoon ) girl, dancing with a furry freak in a stupid looking tuxedo. The loving smile on her face as she gazed at the beast made his stomach churn.

Leave it to the Disney corporation to lie like that, to kids no less. To tell them that love was for everyone, regardless of things like looks, or social status, or apparently even species. That everyone had someone out there for them, their one true love. Seriously, that was the biggest load of bull he'd ever heard. Girls like this Belle – smart, nice, funny, accepting, unselfish – didn't exist. And even one did, she wouldn't get with a guy like the beast. She probably wouldn't get with Gaston either, but it wouldn't have been the beast. No, most likely she would have met some rich, handsome, kind, man who was just passing through, one who could take her everywhere she wanted to go. Her and her crazy father.

Okay, so he watched the move. Once. Just to see if there was any truth to it. He'd known the basics : Boy under curse. Monster. Pretty girl trapped in castle with ugly monster. Monster and Girl fall in love anyways. Other than that he was clueless.

He hadn't gone in expecting much, the story reeked of fake Disney cheer, not to mention the smile dishes and such on the front, and he'd come out repulsed. Admittedly it hadn't been horrible. The singing candelabra had been weird, the songs annoying, and he often wondered why it was only the minor characters with a French accent, but over all the story wasn't bad. Then he'd gotten to the end where the pretty girl confesses her love to the monster, thinking him dead. She'd kissed him and poof, he'd suddenly been a handsome prince, just perfect for the smart, nice, funny, unselfish, and supposedly accepting girl.

Because God forbid he actually look like the hideous thing she fell in love with. Because even the Disney people couldn't deny that it would never have worked. That it wouldn't have been possible for her to love him as he was forever, She wouldn't want to wake up to that every morning, make love to it every night. If they ever even found a way to do that. Would she be content to die a virgin, childless?

Or would Disney have been forced to take a more realistic approach and have her take advantage of the fact that the town hated him, that he couldn't leave his castle. Have her take advantage of his love and trust and go down to the village more and more, fall in "love" with some other, handsome, human, guy, until at last she never returned. She'd have lived her happy life with her children and travel, sparing the occasional thought for the poor, lonely, beast, wasting away in his castle by himself. Dying of a broken heart as he mourned the girl he loved more than life itself and hating the creature that he was.

Yeah right. Disney was all about happy lies. That's why it was just a curse, easily broken.

But curses aren't really broken, he thought bitterly as resisted the urge to drive his fist into the glass, right into the middle of Belle's pretty, phony, face. He knew that better than anyone. His reflection in the window was proof of that, horrible disfigurement and all.

He turned sharply, disgusted by it all, only to run directly into a little girl exiting the store. She fell backwards with a squeak onto the floor. Clutching her newly bought Stitch doll, she scrunched her face up, letting a loud wail and drawing the attention of everyone in the area.

He could feel their accusing stares, their looks of repulsion as they laid eyed on his, and was torn between his initial impulse to help the girl and the desire to flee their stares. He settled for standing there as a Disney store employee rushed,from where she was stocking a shelf, out onto the scene. He scoffed as she knelt down to inspect the girl, finding her fine and fishing a lollipop from her stupid looking employee smock. Sniffling, the child unwrapped the candy, shoving it in her mouth.

He could hear the whispers of the small crowd that had gathered. They were, for the most part, misguided, accusatory, and mean where he was concerned.

He hadn't meant to knock the girl over, he didn't make it a habit to hurt small children. He liked children, as much as he liked anybody. He wasn't really social...at all, which was just fine with him. There wasn't anybody who wanted to be social with him either. He was glad she was alright. His first instinct had been to help her, but he'd decided against it. It was bad enough she'd fallen, she didn't need to be frightened by his face as well.

He couldn't help the swell of bitter rage he felt at their accusations. They didn't understand, didn't even see what happened. But they'd seen his face, and that was all they needed to turn him into a character as cruel as one of those cliched Disney villains.

Well he'd have no problem living up to their expectations.

"Damn kid, watch where you're going."

The girl's lip trembled again, giving him a shot of guilt, but it was the employee who reacted the strongest. Spinning around she leveled him with an icy-hot glare.

"What is your problem?" she demanded, crossing her arms and matching his scowl.

_It only figures that she'd work here. _He hadn't recognized her until she turned around, but now that he got a good look he recognized her from school. He'd seen her around the campus, she might have a class or two with him. He wasn't sure. He didn't really pay that much attention to who his classmates were. Either way, he'd happened to see her around a few times, usually with some other girls. _I think my brother's dating one of them... _Either way she was the perfect Disney princess, all popular and pretty.

And _s_he definitely was pretty. Even at times like now, when she was pissed off. Her big blue eyes were narrowed, her full, shiny, pink, lips were curved in a heavy frown. Her long, black, hair was usually hanging free down her back, but was apparently pulled up for work. What was her name? Something with a K maybe? Maybe if he got a look at her name tag...

"Well?"

Oh yeah...she'd asked him a question.

"Well what?"

"What's your damn problem?" she hissed as she approached, her hips swinging angrily, arms folded across her chest.

"I don't have a damn problem", he snarled, not bothering to temper his own anger. It wouldn't do any good to hold back, she'd still have that look of disgust in her eyes. He'd seen her eyes widen surprise when she'd first seen him, though she'd quickly hidden it. If it was possible, he hated those types even more. He found he preferred the people who were open with their repulsion, rather than the ones who tried to hide it. Damn liars... "The kid shouldn't be running around like that anyways. Where the hell are her parents? Maybe if they were parenting none of this would have happened!"

This was apparently the wrong thing to say, he noticed, as her eyes ignited into flames as she marched closer, stopping right in front of him. "You do so have a _damn_ problem." She snapped, "If you're seriously blaming a little girl for this. It was an accident. As in it wasn't on purpose. As in you have no right to snap at her for it!" She jabbed her finger into his chest, emphasizing her point, prodding the flames of his very short temper. He growled low in his throat, giving her his most intimidating glare, but it did nothing. She continued on anyways. "In fact, you're just as much at fault as she is. So maybe you should watch where the hell _you're _going! Hmm?"

This time when she jabbed him he caught her hand. It was small in his, light and smooth. Perfect. She really was just like one of those pretty little princesses. Except for her personality, that could use some work. Then again, it was probably just him. For all he knew she was perfectly sweet to everyone else.

After all, she carried around lollipops in her smock thing. What evil bitch carried lollipops around with her?

Squeezing her fingers together until he winced, he roughly threw her hand away. The last thing he needed was those prefect little hands poking him in the chest while she looked at him like he was scum everyone thought he was. Gods, he was so sick of being looked at like that.

"And maybe you should mind your own business _princess_" He spat the word like it was something dirty, his tone dropping deep into the negative degrees. He could see the surprise register on her face, though he wasn't sure what she was so surprised about. "Go back to your stupid little store sell your stupid little lies."

"Huh? Lies?" She wondered aloud, but he didn't reply as he stalked out of the mall, the best one could with a limp.

* * *

"_And maybe you should mind your own business princess. Go back to your stupid little store and sell your stupid little lies."_

All weekend long Kaogome had been spacing out, replaying the scene in her mind. Trying to figure out what he meant. On Monday morning, she still had no answer, and after a morning of deliberation, finally decided to just ask him. He did go to her school, and it wasn't like he was hard to find. He stood out, though not necessarily for the best of reasons.

The fact was, he couldn't have blended into a crowd if he'd wanted to. Not the way he looked. She wasn't sure if it was a birth defect or if it had happened later, just that it was...bad.

She'd transferred in last year, in the beginning of 10th grade. She'd immediately made friends, finding the people here much nicer than her last school, so when she'd heard the vicious comments whispered though the halls she'd been taken aback. What could be so bad about him that they'd say these things? Surely he couldn't be as hideous as they all claimed.

She was proven wrong as she stepped into her last class that day, her eyes spotting him immediately. He was in the back of the room, alone, the ear buds in his ears disappearing discreetly into his black hoodie. She'd seen him and known automatically that this was him, the boy they all talked about.

His face was scarred and disfigured, one side flat as if the cheekbones simply didn't exist there. His nose was horribly crooked. She assumed it had to do with the cheekbones, but it made his eyes look disproportionate. His eyebrows were thin, appearing as if they almost weren't there at all. There were various scars along the surface, from the puffy and pink to the thin and white, and his lip was pulled up in the very corner of the left side. Not in any sort of conscious facial expression, just as if it was sewn that way.

Apparently the rumors hadn't been lies, or even exaggerations. She'd been sure they had to be, though no one could possibly look as horrible as all that. She was also wrong. It really was that bad.

At first she'd been curious as to why he was always alone. Sure he was ugly, but that wasn't any good reason. It didn't take long, though, for her to learn. He was an asshole. A complete jerk with a horrible temper who seemed to pride himself in his self-isolation.

True, the other kids helped, but even if they didn't he'd have done a good job of it all on his own. Once or twice she'd considered going up to him, attempting to make friends, but thought better of it. She'd seen the way he snapped at anyone who came near.

* * *

"What are you looking at?" Sango wondered aloud as she watched her friend that morning. She'd been at school for 15 minutes already and had spent every second of it scanning the campus.

"Nothing." Kagome muttered, frustrated. "Someone. Someone who really shouldn't be this hard to find."

It really shouldn't have been. He stuck out like a sore thumb just because of his face. If you added the fact that his raggedy, unkempt hair was a shining, if greasy, silver, he should be as easy to spot as if there was a blinking arrow floating over his head.

"Who?" Sango asked, leaning back against the desk, leaning her head back until she was looking upside down through the window. The two of them were in the Latin room, their official morning meeting place, waiting for the rest of their group. As if on queue, Rin walked in, not finding Sango's current position at all strange.

Sitting on the desk beside the one Sango was leaning backwards over, Rin watched her other friend in silence for a few moments before asking, "What's she looking at?"

"Not a what", Sango answered, " A who. And she apparently can't find him." She paused, looking as contemplative as one could while half-way upside down. "Hey Kagome, is it a he?"

"Yes." She grumbled, aggravated.

"OK."

There was more silence, Rin pulling her legs up into lotus position on the desk, quietly meditating while studying her friend. Kagome was pressed up against the window, not even blinking as she searched. Sango watched as well from her current position.

"Hey, does anyone know why Kagome's face is pressed-" Miroku stopped speaking as he saw his friends. "Yeah, never mind."

"Ohm. She's looking for someone. Ohm." Rin replied anyways.

Miroku sighed, rubbing at his temples. " You know I'm not quite sure meditation works if you're talking...with your eyes open..."

Rin just ignore him, chanting a quiet mantra of "Ohm."

Walking over to Sango he stood in front of her feet, leaning over her with his arms braced on either side of the girl so that he was looking at her face. "So tell me, just who is our dear friend looking for, with her face pressed up against the glass like that?"

"I don't know", Sango replied her eyes narrow, "Now get off me before I knee you in the balls."

She lifted her knee to his crotch to show him just how well-placed her knee was for the job. Unfortunately, the scene looked just a little different to Sesshomaru as he walked through the Latin room door.

"Sesshomaru!" Rin exclaimed, bouncing her thin form agilely from the desk. Of the three girls she was the only one with any grace. They weren't even sure when she'd unfolded her legs from their complicated position. She threw her arms eagerly around her boyfriend, hugging him around the waist.

"Could you two please refrain from foreplay this early in the morning? Much less on a desk, that some unfortunate soul will undoubtedly have to use later, and in front of my girlfriend."

The room was suddenly silent, the teacher swiveling around quickly in her computer chair, her eyes wide. Kagome actually pried her eyes away from the window, turning to look.

The two teens involved froze, immediately flushing a deep shade of red.

"I-I, we-we're not", Sango stammered pushing his chest away with her hands. "Um...damn it Miroku!" She brought her knee up as hard as threatened. Being a soccer player, her legs were slim and strong, as Miroku soon discovered. He fell with a squeak, cupping himself and whimpering on the ground. Stepping over him, the teacher made them leave the room, locking the door behind them with a click.

"Well that was rude", Sango huffed, sticking her tongue out at the door. She smiled as she heard the teacher fussing at Miroku through the door. "I hope they get stuck in his throat."

Sesshomaru raised a brow.

"Well I do."

"Just who are you looking for anyways?" Rin asked, bouncing over Kagome, the previous issue dismissed. As as Sophomore, Rin was a year younger than everyone else, two years younger than Sesshomaru. She was adorable in a really pretty way, all trim and toned from yoga, petite and small boned, like a fairy. Her hair was long and black in a different style everyday, ranging everywhere from the complicated to the simplistic. Her eyes were huge, her nose petite, her lips delicate like little rosebuds and almost always turned up.

The group's attention was momentarily turned towards Miroku, as he approached them, limping just slightly. He wisely stood a good distance away from Sango. She'd forgive him this, she always did. It would just take some time, in which a good distance of at least 3 feet was advised at all times.

"Inuyasha", Kagome replied casually as she searched the crowd. "I've got something to ask him."

"What could you possibly have to ask _him_?" Sesshomaru's tone was as cold as ice, reminding her of Inuyasha's from Friday.

_Oh yeah...they're brothers._ Even though they both had the same silver hair, it was still so easy to forget. Sesshomaru was so handsome, the envy of males everywhere. Rin was seriously lucky to be dating him, and a lesser girl might have been intimidated by the evil death-glares she so frequently received from jealous Sesshomaru fan-girls.

It wasn't like they hung out or anything either. Even when Inuyasha was teased, Sesshomaru did nothing, said nothing. He could be two feet away from his brother and not even register his existence. Not outwardly anyways.

She wasn't sure what the cause for the animosity was, but she knew it was there. It was obvious in his tone of voice, the narrowing of his eyes when Inuyasha came up.

"It's nothing much", She replied, slowly, gauging his reaction, "I ran into him at work the other day and he said some things. I just want to know what he meant."

"Well, what did he say?" Miroku asked, his voice strange. She frowned at his tone. He was another one who acted differently regarding Inuyasha, and she knew no more about his feelings than Sesshomaru's, except maybe that Miroku's didn't seem so hostile. He seemed more curious...perhaps just a little concerned.

Taking a mental note to ask him about it later, she opened her mouth to respond when she spotted a flash of silver in the distance. Someone dressed in all black and moving with a limp. With a gasp of surprise, she immediately took off after him, leaving her friends standing there in silence. It wasn't until she'd followed him around a corner that they spoke.

"I wonder what he said." Sango stared at the corner her friend had vanished behind.

"I wonder why anyone would care." Sesshomaru's voice was quiet as usual, but the words came off as bitterly repulsed as ever. Looking down at Rin, the repulsion lessened, though his distaste still came in loud and clear. "I've got to get to class. I'll see you later."

She waved goodbye before turning back to her friends.

Miroku sighed, running a hand through his bangs, watching Sesshomaru's retreating form. "I just don't get it."

Rin watched him wide-eyes and curious. "What is it? What don't you get?"

Sango made a sympathetic noise, her anger dissipated by current events, laying a hand on his shoulder. " I know."

Rin frowned, displeased at not being properly informed. Sure she was younger, but that was no reason to keep information from her. Especially when this information was making her best friends so sad.

* * *

Inuyasha scowled as he heard the footsteps, heard her call his name. And to think, he'd thought he could just get his books from his locker and go. No, instead she had to do this.

As if he didn't attract enough attention already.

Well, nothing to do now but plot a course of action. The way he saw it, he had a few options. He could fore go the trip to the locker and attempt to outrun...er...out-hobble her.

Yeah...and when that failed he could ignore her. That seemed like a better idea, though the chances of her shutting up didn't seem all that great. With his luck she'd follow him, yelling to get his attention and following him into his first hour class. Somehow he sensed that this would make it even harder for him to disappear into the corner.

Lastly he could turn around, see what she wanted, and then say something rude. Yes, that seemed like the best course of action. Not the most appealing, but...

_Wonder what __**she**_ _wants to yell at me about_, he mentally groaned as he turned to face her.

She'd been running. He could tell by the way she folded over on herself, panting, her hands braced on her knees. What the hell did she have to say that was this damn important? Hadn't she done enough yelling yesterday? Really, he got it. She didn't like him. So what, no one else did either. Not even his own family.

"What?" he snapped, sending her his most menacing glare in hopes of discouraging her.

No such luck.

She frowned up at him, a quick surge of irritation flashing in her eyes before she shook it away. "No, No time for that, not now. Just tell me what you meat."

"Excuse me?

"What you meant" she replied, straightening, still breathing heavily. "Yesterday. About lying to children."

_That_ was what this was about?

"What's there to explain?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe how I'm lying to children. Yeah, let's start there."

"Go away."

She blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You heard me. Go away. Leave. Cease and desist."

He started to limp off, almost relieved when he didn't hear her footsteps. Almost. Until...

"Wait!"

"What?" he snarled.

"You didn't answer my question!"

"Yeah, and I'm not going to!"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to talk to a nosy little bitch like you!"

She blinked, seemingly stunned. He took advantage of the situation by turning to leave once more. She was a persistent little bitch however, quickly shaking it off and running after him.

No way, oh there was no way in hell, that he had just said that. Had he seriously just called her a bitch? What's more, had he expected to get away with it?

If so he was in for some disappointment.

She was mad. He could tell. Some people could hide their emotions really well, sounding calm when seething. Kagome, was not one of those people. He could practically feel the waves of rage against his back.

Oh well. He wasn't turning around, no matter how pissed off she was. He continued on to his class, ignoring the stares and whispers of the students observing the scene this girl was making. Why did she always have to make a scene anyways?

All he wanted was to disappear. To slip into the crowd, unnoticed, and remain there. To move about the school like a shadow. He'd been doing a fairly good job if he did say so himself. No one had taken any special notice in him in quite some time.

He'd be lucky if he could say that by the end of the day.

Everyone was staring now, stopping, despite the fact that the bell had already rang, and watching the scene unfold. He could hear their whispers ; "What's going on? What did the freak do now?" Their eyes wide as they took in the view with their morbid curiosity. They were hoping something would happen, and happen to him. Something bad, perhaps a slap across his ugly face. Had he looked at her wrong? Tried to kiss her? Dared confess his love or something? Was her boyfriend – a girl that pretty had to have one - going to beat him up?

It had been a while since anything like that had happened and the school could do with some amusement.

He could practically read their minds, their eyes. It was a sour feeling, knowing they wanted him to be hurt in some way or another. Were anticipating it. Excited about it. It churned his stomach, made him want to both flee and punch in everyone's faces at the same time.

Especially this damn girl. This one damn interfering girl. It wasn't bad enough that she'd yelled her assumptions at him the day before in front of her damn, happy, Disney store, oh no, now she had to drag it out. To bring it to the school grounds and get an audience. Sure they'd been people at the mall, but they didn't know him, most pitied him is grotesque form. He despised pity, but physically it hurt less.

Would she slap him, he wondered. He certainly wasn't going out of his way to win her good graces. Quite the opposite actually. Most girls would have slapped him at this point, or told their boyfriends to. They would have done something.

He didn't understand this girl. He'd yelled at her, been intentionally mean, called her a bitch. It hadn't been hard, these were his true feelings, but he'd made a point not to temper them. He'd wanted them sharp and cutting, hopefully cutting her away. He didn't want to deal with her. He didn't want to deal with anyone. He was quite content in his solitude.

He stopped short, spinning on his heel, his already frightening face contorting into a truly fearsome snarl. "What? What the hell do you want bitch? Why won't you go the fuck away?"

He could see the surprise, the fear, behind her eyes and it added to the bitterness. It was deep, behind temper though. "What are you, stupid?" She was sick of him,so incredibly sick of him. Everything he said was like a stick, prodding the embers of her anger, rising it up into tall, hot, flames that licked at her throat and spewed from her mouth. She was beyond pissed at this point, her tact reserves depleted. Her fury had a mind of it's own. "I asked you what you meant yesterday! What, are you retarded too? Did whatever fucked up your outside fuck up your mind as well?"

Her words rang cold in his ears, zeroing out the sound of the crowd, their gasps and giggles. Their sounds of astonishment and approval. They all vanished under her words resonating in his head. He felt as if he'd been doused with ice water, for once too stunned to move. To speak. To breathe. For a moment he felt completely numb.

Then slowly feeling returned, the ache in his chest tightening like a fist around his heart. His stomach was hot, boiling, with a slowly building rage derived from years of this abuse. He was so damn sick of it. Of the name calling, of the teasing, of everyone waiting anxiously to see his newest from of torture. Why? Why did they all find such great pleasure in his pain? Why did they love so much to see him hurt?

Kagome watched the change in him, watched him freeze as her words reached his ears, felt a sharp stab of regret. She shouldn't have said that, wished she hadn't. It was so wrong on so many levels, so utterly cruel. And had hit right on the mark. She could tell by the way his eyes, once hot with anger and annoyance, glazed over to hard, flat ice. Even though disproportionate, they still had the same effect as they would had they been normal. She felt her body go cold as she stared at them. They looked like ice and yet molten gold at the same time. They were so intense, so angry...

So hurt, she realized. He'd shoved it back, pushed it beneath other, more obvious emotions, but it was there, deep and shining. And the fact that she had put it there, at least partially, made her want to cry.

"Inuyasha" she whispered, her tone soft and apologetic, but he'd hear none of it. Furiously he approached her, backing her against the wall and trapping her between his arms. He leaned in close, his face calm, his eyes hot. "Fine then", he hissed, venom dripping in his tone, "You want to know so badly. I said you sell lies because you do, you and the whole damn Disney corporation. With their theme parks and their books and their movies, all preaching about the same bullshit ideas of hope and trust and love. That if you don't lock Cinderella in the basement or steal some fish-girl's voice, than your story ends with happily ever after, in a big house with prince charming. Well guess what _Princess_, there's no such thing as happily ever after. As true kindness and unconditional love, and certainly not the vaguest hope of someone looking past the _surface_. They're nice ideas on paper, but once you leave that damn park or your happy little store, get into the real world they're not worth a damn thing."

He was about to pull back, to storm off campus and skip today, he could hear faculty members yelling from a distance, already on their way to break it up and ship the students off to class. He wasn't given the chance however, before he found himself being yanked back roughly, his bad leg throwing him off balance. As he stumbled, the front of his shirt was caught in a tight grip, yanking him up to his enemy.

"Hey Shithead!", barked the owner of the hand – Koga, as it appeared- "What do you think you're trying to pull?"

"Fuck off", Inuyasha seethed. He was in no mood to take their shit today, especially not over something as stupid as this little bitch. He could hear her cry, "Koga!" in surprise, but ignored her his attention going instead to Ginta and Hakkaku, Koga's two minion-esque friends.

"What did you say?" Koga snarled, ignoring Kagome's protests.

"I said", Inuyasha repeated, grabbing Koga's hand, working his finger's under the other boy's, "Fuck. Off." He yanked Koga's finger's back viciously, regaining his balance as the grip was released, reveling slightly in his howl of pain. Inuyasha had never before thought himself particularly bloodthirsty, but he found he gained great satisfaction in this act. His mood was so foul, emotions raging around inside of him, all of them dark and bitter. Angry and hurt. Warring inside until he wanted to scream. And then here comes this guy, Koga, his main tormentor, the cause of so much of his torture, pain and humiliation, picking a fight with him. It was more than he could refuse. He almost smiled as he heard a bone pop somewhere in Koga's hand. " Or better yet", he continued, yanking his other arm away as Ginta tried to pull him off, " Go fuck your little minions."

Kagome felt herself start to shake as she watched the scene, though she wasn't sure of what she felt. There was fear, yes, and regret. She had to wonder if he'd have done this had she not yelled such horrible things at him. Koga always did things like this, everyone did, and he usually just brushed it off. He yelled a little maybe, shot them the bird, and then stalked off to wherever he went to calm down, always returning to his seat in the back of the room, no one really sure of when he'd got there.

She had to admit, that thought didn't make things better. The fact that he'd actually grown used to this, that it happened so often. She knew it did, she'd seen it. She hadn't watched, she'd refused to turn someone else's pain into a spectator sport, but she hadn't done anything else either.

At the moment, that particular realization made her feel like scum.

Especially as she watched Hakkaku sink his fist into Inuyasha's stomach. Finally Inuyasha released Koga's hand, stumbling back, grunting with pain. His hand went immediately to the injured area, doubled over slightly. That had to have hurt, and yet still he stood, glaring at them all from beneath his bangs. It was then, just as he was about to retaliate, that the principal made it through the crowd. Finding Koga on the ground, his fingers bent unnaturally, and Inuyasha with his fist raised, she drew the obvious conclusion.

Silently, Kagome watched Inuyasha walk away, resigned to his fate. Watched him head off, without resistance, to take the punishment for a fight he hadn't started, hadn't wanted. She could no longer see his eyes as he walked away, but she didn't need to. The image of them was so clearly imprinted on her mind.

She could see them now in her mind's eye, just the way they'd looked as he's brought his face so close to her's, hissing his reply to the cruelty she'd flung at him. They'd been an intense combination of hot and cold, as if the fire of fury was being restrained by a thin layer of cool ice. She wasn't sure what to make of it. All she knew was that they were gorgeous.

She knew that if anyone heard her say that anything on Inuyasha was so much as mildly attractive they would think her crazy, but it was true. They really were the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen.

While from a distance they may seem uneven, disproportionate, it was just because of the unnatural shape of his face. In reality they were as perfectly placed as anyone else's. As perfectly even. And the color...They were pure amber, flecked with hints of pure gold, hot and intense and dangerously beautiful...

And hurt. She'd seen it. In their depths swam a hurt so profound it almost broke her heart to witness.

* * *

**I LOVE DISNEY MOVIES! JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE! That being said, this idea was derived from this one thought I like playing with : Why, if Beauty was supposed to accept the beast for who he was, did he change into someone "handsome" ( air quotes , because I've seen the movie to. Seriously, he is NOT handsome...he looked better before... ) Let me know how I did and I promise to update my other stuff soon. IMPORTANT!**

**THE CHAPTER TITLES ARE ALL DISNEY SONGS, FROM SOME MOVIE OR ANOTHER, THAT I THOUGHT WOULD FIT. INCASE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND,OR KNOW THE SONG, THE SONG TITLE, MOVIE IT IS FROM, AND LYRICS, WILL BE POSTED AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER, AS AN AUTHOR'S NOTE. SOME SONGS WILL FIT BETTER THAN OTHERS YOU WILL SEE THE INFORATION FOR THIS CHAPTER BENEATH THIS NOTE : **

Song: The Mob Song

Movie: Beauty and the Beast


	2. And He Shall Smite The Wicked

**Hey guys! I got surprisingly good reviews for that last chapter. Cool. Go me! So here's chapter 2, lets see if it's as good as the last one. Also, this won't be a very long fic, I don't think. Just throwing that out there. **

* * *

**Chapter 2.**

Suspended.

That was apparently the punishment for defending yourself these days. Not that he particularly cared. Who complained about a break from school?

The answer to that, apparently, was Myoga. The old man was standing there, several inches shorter than Inuyasha but trying to look ten times as intimidating. He didn't...but the effort was there.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, just scowled and stared over the man's head in an attempt to appear unconcerned. It drove him crazy.

"Inuyasha", he sighed wearily, "What are you trying to do?"

Not die?

"I'm not trying to do anything old man. Just ground me or whatever and let me go."

He thought, for a moment, that he'd yell or make some sort of threat, his eyes narrowing and that little vein in his head throbbing slightly, but he didn't. He took a deep breath, pointer finger raised, clearly about to, but then he stopped, sighing and just shook his head.

"No...It's not...just..." He moved his hand, pointing up the stairs. "Just go..."

Inuyasha shrugged, trudging up the stairs, ignoring the eyes he could feel on his back. He knew the old man was watching him, his eyes sad, his face haggard, wondering where he went wrong, and for all his wrong doings Inuyasha didn't have it in him to tell him the truth.

That it started when he took him in.

Without another look he shut the door to him room before falling face first onto his bed.

* * *

She was a master of concentration. She could work a shift in a brightly colored store with music playing and small children of the hyper variety running amok for three hours a day without setting anything on fire or forgetting a single receipt. She was a valued employee,- even employee of the month a few times- and her masterful concentration was to thank. Today, however, the force just wasn't with her.

She'd spent the past hour in the back of the store, attempting to stack plush replicas of Disney characters into a tall mountain, below the giant television screen. She loved the plush mountain. She always had since back when she was a little girl, always dreamt of what it would be like to climb to the top, to dive from the peak onto the sea of stuffed animals below. She still dreamt of it.

She had also dreamt of working here since she was old enough to seek employment, loved her job, and would in no way jeopardize it. Therefore she had yet to ever take that dive.

But that didn't mean she didn't want to.

Just being back here made the extra shift she'd taken, covering for Eri so she could go on that date she'd been squealing about all week, worth it.

Except her attention had been divided.

No, to say divided would be to imply that some part of her mind was actually on the task at hand. This was in no way true. Even though the store was quiet, had closed to the public at 7:00, she failed to call upon her supreme concentration. Rather than stacking the stuffed dolls, she found herself sitting on the box- the one Hojo had been kind enough to drag out of storage before his highly anticipated date with Eri – hugging a plush replica of Micky Mouse and staring off into space. She was just lucky her boss had left her in charge of closing tonight and wasn't here to bear witness.

And so she was free to stew in her unproductively, her thoughts circling around the day's events. More particularly, the morning's. She had, at first, attempted to push them away. To focus on her work and deal with them later. Her environment however, made that task pretty much impossible. Especially considering that _Beauty and the Beast_ had been playing on the big screen.

"_Fine then. You want to know so badly. I said you sell lies because you do, you and the whole damn Disney corporation. With their theme parks and their books and their movies, all preaching about the same bullshit ideas of hope and trust and love. That if you don't lock Cinderella in the basement or steal some fish-girl's voice, than your story ends with happily ever after, in a big house with prince charming. Well guess what __**Princess**__, there's no such thing as happily ever after. As true kindness and unconditional love, and certainly not the vaguest hope of someone looking past the surface. They're nice ideas on paper, but once you leave that damn park or your happy little store, get into the real world they're not worth a damn thing."_

She couldn't help but remember his words, hissed at her with well deserved anger. His eyes shining with it, his hands digging into her arms, her back pressed against the bricks of the wall, cold through her shirt. The feelings of panic that had risen at that moment, the feeling of being trapped.

Yet what bothered her more than that was what she'd heard then, seen. More than the fury in his voice, it was the conviction. The belief. He truly believed the words he'd spat at her so bitterly.

And that was the saddest thing of all.

Maybe she was sheltered, naive, but just the fact that anyone could feel that way was unfathomable to her.

Sighing, she stood, determined to get something done, knowing she needed to, to get home tonight. Knowing she needed to get home. Hell, it was almost 8:00 and she had absolutely nothing done. Yet as she crouched down to strategically position Mickey in between Simba and Baloo, she found herself studying the small lion. His yellow eyes looking back at her with all the joy of a stuffed toy, oblivious to the troubles of the world.

She found her thoughts drawn back to another set of eyes, slightly more golden in color and infinitely more tortured. Eyes that had stared at her, stunned, for just a moment before darkening with hurt. More hurt. Eyes she hadn't thought she could hurt.

Was that it? Was that why she'd said it? Allowed herself to spit the venom that she had. Had she thought it wouldn't affect him? That he'd been hurt so much, so many other things been said, that her words couldn't possibly matter? What was one more laceration?

It was stupid. She was stupid. What had she been thinking? She was hit with a wave of regret, definitely not the first since the whole incident. The same wave that washed over her every time the though occurred.

She had to fix this. How she was supposed to do that was beyond her, but she knew it had to be done. Somehow.

And it would start with an apology, something she was sure he was unfamiliar with. Something to show him that she was really, truly, sorry. Because she was. Regardless of whatever deformation had occurred he was still a human being, and he still had feelings. She'd seen them. She wished she hadn't, would have preferred to keep thinking of him as cold and unfeeling, a complete and utter asshole. Hell, he may be. But there was something there. Something that was hurt, and damaged and disbelieving. Something she couldn't ignore.

Something she resolved to change.

She wanted to see him believe in goodness, in truth and faith and love. Everything she embraced and he denounced. The very things that had drawn her to Disney and this store.

And who better to make the change?

After she made an apology.

* * *

While his words were echoing through her mind, her own resounded in his. Cold and angry, biting. Oddly enough, they stung no less now than when they were first uttered.

"_What, are you retarded too? Did whatever fucked up your outside fuck up your mind as well?"_

He gave one short laugh, devoid of any humor whatsoever, that disappeared into the dark. He lay on his back on his bed, his knees drawn up, feet flat on the mattress. He kept remembering the scene, the throbbing in his stomach keeping him from forgetting, the business of his mind preventing him from slipping into the oblivion of sleep. And so he was left awake at midnight with so many unanswered question.

Why?

Why did it happen?

Why to him?

Why had this been the result? One of the results anyways. There'd been others, no more pleasant.

She'd asked if he was retarded. He might have been, had come very close to it. Perhaps it would have been easier if he had been. Perhaps then he could have the blissful joy of the ignorant, been oblivious to the hatred of others. Been spared the pain of comprehension, the misery that came with understanding the situation. But no. For all the damage done, his mind had been spared. The universe's fucked up cosmic joke.

Well, it had been spared to an extent. Been spared from anything physical. He couldn't attest for his current mental state, though considering Myoga had attempted to get him into therapy several times he didn't figure it was good.

He was twisted, distorted, messed up. He was in pain, both his body and his heart and there was nothing anyone could do. Nothing anyone wanted to do. After all, why should they care about him of all people? Why should anyone care? It wasn't like he was human or anything, had feelings or emotions. It wasn't like he was worth anything.

Maybe she was right. He really was fucked up inside, inadvertently by the same thing that had fucked him up outside.

Irony at it's best.

* * *

"Have any of you guys seen Inuyasha?"

Four sets of eyes were suddenly glued to her, their emotions ranging from confusion to contempt. Miroku, however, was the first to voice his.

"Why? What's with your sudden fascination with him? Didn't you do enough yesterday?" His voice was insolent, his eyes narrowed, and she realized with a start that he was really, seriously, angry with her. She found herself taking a step back, her hands coming up in front of her in a gesture of peace.

"Hey, what's with you?"

"Yeah", Rin added from her current position hanging over the edge of a desk. She was lying sideways across it with her entire body over the edge facing the window, her feet hooked around the legs to keep her from falling. Kagome could only assume this was some sort of meditative thing, and after having known Rin this long didn't really question it. She had more on her plate right now anyways. "You're getting really worked up about this."

Sesshomaru just leaned against the window, facing his upside down girlfriend, the look on his face murderous. This was also something no one questioned. It was easy enough to explain.

"I'm not, it's just... Why are you so obsessed with him all of a sudden? I'm just saying, it didn't do much good yesterday."

She winced at both the memory and the accusatory tone in his voice. It was strange...so out of character. For the entire time she'd known him he'd always been kind and good natured, always with a joke or a smile. A sarcastic yet amusing retort. Something. Just standing here, seeing that look in his eye.

She'd never really seen him angry, she realized with a start. And now...he was...

"I know things didn't end up so great yesterday, that's why-"

"You think? Really? Because I thought things went just splendidly."

"What are you getting at?"

"I mean now you don't have to look at him-"

"I never said-"

"And you have given Koga yet _another_ chance to prove his undying love. Because he never does that-"

"Will you just shut up!" She could hear her final syllable echoing around the room, feel the teacher's eyes on her back, knew she'd probably be asked to leave, but she didn't care. She was too angry to care. "I know I fucked up yesterday, and believe it or not I really didn't mean for any of that to happen! And- and since when do you care anyways? You keep yelling about my fascination or obsession or whatever, but what about you? You're the one leaping to his rescue like some knight in shining armor! Are you looking to make him your princess Miroku? Is that it?"

"Oh yeah, that's it. I'm just dying to have him under me. That just has to be it doesn't it. There couldn't be any other reason! Like maybe I'm not a selfish little bitch or-"

"Miss. Higurashi!, Mr. Houshi!", the teacher exclaimed, shoving her wide girth between the two. They were almost nose to nose, each looking ready to strangle the other, and she didn't ant them in arm's distance when their restraint finally snapped. "I want you both separated! Out!" She pointed a chubby finger towards the door. "There's only five minutes until the bell and I can't have you killing each other. There's nowhere near enough time to clean the blood, which I find just slightly disruptive to the learning process!"

"Allow me", Kagome hissed, her voice so cold she was surprised ice didn't form on her breath. She looked back just once as she slipped out the door. "Man whore."

She didn't hear his response, if there even was one, letting the door shut and marching off to sit against the opposite wall. She wasn't expecting to hear the door open again, or to see Sango slipping out after her.

She turned to face her friend and sighed, spotting the look in her eyes.

"That was uncalled for."

"He was asking for it."

"You don't know the whole story."

Kagome frowned. There was actually a good chance that was true, seeing as she'd only known him for a year. "Should I?"

"Yeah, probably," she replied, "Especially if things are going to keep going like this." her eyes grew cold suddenly, sharp. "You really hurt him."

She felt yet another stab of guilt, remorse, strong and bitter. The same she felt towards Inuyasha, and yet maybe worse. Inuyasha was just some guy, but Miroku was her friend. Her good friend. He'd never been anything but kind to her and yet...

She needed to learn some tact, to bite her tongue. She wasn't too bad about it under normal circumstances, but whenever she was angry it was as if her temper cut off all ties between her brain and her mouth. Words formed, words specifically designed to tear flesh, and when she cooled down she was left with bad feelings and bitter remorse.

Sango's eyes softened a little as she watched the emotions play across her friend's face, saw the regret there. "I'm not saying you're completely to blame, he was being stupid too but...his stupidity is justified. To an extent anyways."

"By what?" Her voice wasn't accusing anymore, simply curious. "What's this story I don't know?" Why was he so concerned with Inuyasha.

"It goes back about nine years ago to when Miroku was seven. He'd just moved here and was in my class. Inuyasha was too. I wasn't real close to him, I never was, but..."

"But?"

"But Miroku was. They were friends almost instantly. Best friends. They were always together. I was actually jealous of him at one point." Her face flushed red, "Seeing as I had a crush on him at the time. Oh! But that's ancient history! Ancient..." She shook her head, and Kagome couldn't help but crack a small smile at her friend's denial. At the crush she sensed had never really faded. "Anyways, the point is they were inseparable. Closer than brothers for three years...then..."

"Then?" She pressured, anxious. She had to admit...it explained a lot. Miroku's refusal to join in the mockery, his refusal to bad mouth him. Miroku was one of the most loyal people she knew...but he was also one of the least judgmental... "Wait...Inuyasha, did he look like...then?"

"No", she replied, her voice sad, "That's what I'm getting to. For all that time he was a normal, happy, little boy. But then...when he was ten...It was raining and...there was an accident."

"An accident?"

"A car crash. A bad one. A ten car pile up kind of thing, it made the news that night. I was over at Miroku's watching cartoons when we saw it..." She shuddered. "It was horrible. They interrupted the programing to show it...I don't think I had ever seen him so pale. He just kind of sat there...staring at the T.V, watching the coverage as they tried to pry the cars apart, knowing that somewhere in all that wreckage lay his best friend..." She paused, swallowed back the memories of that night. When she spoke again, her voice was soft. "Both his parents died that night, and he...well...you know."

"Yeah", she nodded, her voice distant.

What was that like, she wondered? To be in a crash like that, or to watch it on TV... To be a scared little boy in the hospital all alone. To wake up horrible and disfigured, crying for your parents, only to hear that they weren't there. That they never would be again.

"What about Sesshomaru?" She whispered, taking in the impact of the words. "He looks-"

"He wasn't there." She replied. "He stayed home that night." She paused once more, looking Kagome in the eye, watching fir the reaction she suspected the story would elicit. She wasn't disappointed. Kagome opened her mouth, her eyes darting back towards the room where he was, and Sango replied as if anticipating her question. "He blames him. They were out on the road bringing Inuyasha somewhere. There was always tension between them, but after that it was just... they couldn't even be in the same room without trying to kill him..."

"But how did that", she made meaningless hand gestures which Sango took to mean Miroku and Inuyasha's friendship, "Turn into..." More gestures. "This?"

Sango sighed again, leaning wearily against the wall as if the memories were wearing her out. "After it all Inuyasha was...bad...just in bad shape. For the longest time he wouldn't talk, or eat, or anything... Miroku went to see him a few times during that period and...ten year olds aren't supposed to feel that, go through that. Either of them. But..."

"But they did."

She nodded. "Yeah. Anyways, it got to the point where I begged Miroku to stay home, not to go. His parents did too, they didn't think it was good to expose their son to that. I can't blame them, but when they suggested it he threw a fit... Anyways things did eventually progress. I don't know what changed, but he started eating. He'd say things now and then and while it wasn't right away they released him... It was over the summer so it wasn't like he'd missed too much school or anything, just the very beginning. They gave custody of him and Sesshomaru to their uncle and said that he could go to school. And that was when things went to hell."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, he was different. I mean, it was understandable that things would change, something like that just changes things. We weren't too young to realize that but... It was like he tried to disappear. When you look like that though, especially in elementary school...kids are cruel...it didn't work so well. Not to mention that part of his disappearing act included from me and Miroku. He shut him out, tried to push him away. Miroku was persistent though and so it dragged on, and the longer it went the meaner he got. Finally, about a week before school ended they got into this huge fight. Inuyasha yelled some terrible things out on the playground, that Miroku was gay, obsessed with him, and that was why he wouldn't go away. That it was disgusting and that he didn't want anything to do with a little fag like him..." Pause. "I'm not entirely sure where he picked it up but it worked. I think Miroku actually cried...I mean all the kids heard what he said...the teasing was inevitable. Either way, that was the end. Miroku was too hurt to forgive this and too preoccupied with defending himself to care. That last week of school was just hell. They didn't talk at all over the summer, I don't know if Inuyasha even left the house. If he was anything at home like he was at school...We moved into Middle School after that, sixth grade, and things have been like this ever since..."

They were both silent, listened as the bell rang, watched as their friends filed out of the Latin room to scurry on to their first period class. Rin looked over, Sesshomaru beside her, but Miroku jut left without so much as flicking his eyes in their direction.

"He still cares."

"He was hurt, true, but they were friends. Best friends, for years. As he got older he could see things clearer, get a better perspective, but..."

"He still cares...All that... and I said..." She winced as she remembered what she'd yelled in a fit of anger, remember the gay reference. No, that wasn't cool. That was entirely too close to home, to things she had no clue about. "I really fucked up, huh?"

"Just a little...but you really didn't know." When she saw Kagome's face, the look of misery etched there, she grabbed her chin gently, lifting her face to look at her. "He knows you didn't know. Perspective, remember. Just let him cool down. I'll talk to him. I'm not saying you shouldn't apologize, you damn well should-"

"I will", she replied quickly, "That's why I was asking about Inuyasha in the first place...what I said", she groaned, raking her hands through her hair, "That was so bad before... now...God... I've got to do something about my tongue. Cut it out or something."

"Alright" Sango replied, wrapping an arm around her friend. She wasn't a bad person, Sango knew that. She was one of the best people she knew...if she could just conquer that problem with her temper... "But not yet. You have apologies to make. And class to get to. We've got like, 30 seconds left."

When Kagome didn't respond she squeezed the arm in a one-armed hug. "It'll be fine. I'm not so sure about Inuyasha, and neither will you until next week. From what I heard from Koga he's got a week's suspension, but Miroku will forgive you. I know he will."

"You think?"

"I know."

"Thanks Sango."

"Sure thing."

They parted as the tardy bell rang.

* * *

**Oh My God! I keep doing this! Much like the last chapter of **_How Not To Die_ **I wrote this all in one go! I'm exhausted...though that might have something to do with the fact that it's almost 5:00 AM... God...good thing it's summer...Anyways, I know this chapter is shorter than the last, but this was a good stopping point. And I'm not just saying that because I want to go to sleep. Anyways, I hope this chapter was as good as the last, though I know it was considerably less humorous. What can I say, this isn't really a funny story. There will be humor because I can't write something completely devoid of laughs, much less sarcasm, but still...**

**Gah...sleepy... Anyways Don't forget that the chapter title is that of a Disney song. **_Kokoronagomu _**mentioned Hunchback of Notre Dame, the incredibly depressing sounding book, so i decided to go with a song from there for this chapter. Sorry if it doesn't fit so well, I don't write the chapter to fit them. I try to find one afterward and I'm seriously about to pass out. Oh, and yeah I was pissed off too. What's up with choosing the handsome guy over the Hunchback? He was nice and ****in love with her! I mean yes, Quasi does get love in the less popular sequel which I like better for that purpose, but really... Anyways, the stuff:**

Song: And He Shall Smite The Wicked

Movie: Hunchback of Notre Dame

Dies irae, dies illa (Day of wrath, that day)  
Solvet saeclum in favilla (Shall consume the world in ashes)  
Quando Judex est venturus (When the Judge is come)  
Confutatis maledictis (When the damned shall be cast down)  
Flammis acribus addictis (Into the searing flames)  
Voca me cum benedictis (Call me with the blessed)  
Confutatis maledictis (When the damned shall be cast down)  
Gere curam mei finis (Help me in my final hour)


	3. Two Worlds

**Hey guys! I'm not so sure about this chapter. Tell me if I laid it on a little thick and I can re-write it. LEMME KNOW! IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END! READ IT!

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**Chapter 3**

As it turned out, Sango had been right about Miroku. It had taken three days, a box of homemade, chocolate chip cookies, and a fully detailed explanation of several things, but she had succeeded in earning both his forgiveness and a small apology for his own irrational behavior.

She had a sneaking suspicion that Sango had more than a little to do with the last one.

Their newly restored friendship, however, was still somewhat fragile, the way a ceramic figure is when recently glued back together. When both pieces are together again with only the smallest of seams, but no one really knows if the glue will hold. And much like a damaged figurine, it was treated with care and caution.

It was with that thought in mind that no one, least of all Kagome, mentioned either the incident or Inuyasha at all. The topic was dubbed even more taboo than before and was avoided, carefully navigated around when it seemed as if it would pop up. And it was what had Kagome nibbling lightly on the inside of her lower lip Monday morning, doing to her best to sneak discreet looks out the Latin room window. She wouldn't press her face to the glass, make an obvious effort to find him, but she would still keep an eye out.

It had to be done. She had goals to accomplish, the first of which getting him to listen, believe, and hopefully accept her apology.

It was that, that had her biting her lip nervously, not entirely confident that she could succeed. After all, it'd taken a considerable amount of effort from both her and Sango to get back on good terms with Miroku, and he was a friend. He knew her, her good and bad. Inuyasha didn't. All he knew was that she was some "nosy bitch" who'd yelled cruel things at him in public and inadvertently gotten him suspended.

It wasn't exactly a great first impression.

Sango tried to hide the trickle of worry she felt as she watched her friend's eyes dart back to the window, scan over the campus quickly, before returning to the room just in time to laugh at something Miroku has said. Things had been good these past few days, almost as if nothing had ever happened. She'd known it couldn't last, known this day would come, but couldn't help her concern.

Inuyasha was back today. He was no longer avoidable, not if Kagome did the right thing. What she hoped was the right thing anyways. She was tempted to pull Kagome aside and tell her to call the whole thing off, if only to maintain the current state of peace between her friends.

She wouldn't.

But it was tempting.

She took a deep breath, turning her attention back to her friends, where Rin was babbling about something that had happened the previous day at the mall. If Sesshomaru's face was any indication it was something about him, that he wasn't particularly fond of sharing. She tried to submerge herself in the conversation, enjoy the lightheartedness while it lasted. Carpe diam and all that.

But she found herself checking the campus ever so often for a flash of silver hair...

* * *

She didn't find him before class. She'd kept an eye out the entire time, paying special attention to where she'd seen him before, going out of her way to pass by where she assumed he'd been headed when she'd caught him before. Nothing. She was actually beginning to wonder if he'd just bailed, decided school wasn't worth it.

And it was those thoughts that left her so completely stunned to find him in her 4th hour science class. Yet there he was, in the very back, his hood pulled up, ear buds in, quietly tuning out the world. She took a step forward, set to approach him..but stopped. No...not here. She'd already caused one less than pleasant scene trying to talk to him, and it had left her with several yet unspoken apologies. Somehow she'd really rather try to avoid adding to them. Turning, she headed back to her desk.

How had she missed him? Sure it was only the beginning of the year, and sure the teacher never called role – instead just marking you absent should you not be in your seat at the bell – but still? How had that happened? Was it because he was so quiet? So, as Sango had put it, determined to disappear? Was it because this class was right before lunch, that her attention was divided, or that she never lingered, eager for a break?

Or was it simply that she hadn't bothered, overlooked him like the rest?

She'd noticed other people. Noticed Koga...

Her thoughts froze, her eyes turning sharply to the other side of the classroom to where Koga was already seated. Where Koga had so obviously not overlooked Inuyasha's presence any more than he'd forgiven him for his finger, the likes of which was still in a splint. He sat there, flanked by Ginta and Hakkaku, murderous intent visible in his eyes.

Eyes that sensed her gaze. Turning slowly, his eyes met her's, widening slightly in surprise, before warning considerably. Suddenly the blue depths looked more like the warm waters of the ocean than the hot ice they had just moments before. It was the kind of look he'd given her millions of times, meant to be warm and enticing. The kind that gave her tingles down her spine and the sudden urge to play with her hair.

She didn't love him, wasn't even sure if she liked him, but yet he'd always elicited that reaction from her. As far as she could figure, it was the thrill. The thrill of being found attractive, desired. The thrill of discovering the natural power that comes with femininity.

And it wasn't like she hated the guy. Sure, she didn't approve of all his action, but nobody was perfect. People could change. And he was certainly attractive enough, all that shiny brown hair, long and glossy like the cover of a magazine. It was hair that girls envied as much as desired, and when added to his athletic build, chiseled face and piercing blue eyes, made for a dangerously sexy combination.

At least, she hadn't thought she hated him...

But if so...why wasn't her spine tingling? Why did she find herself looking away rather than twirling her hair around her finger?

Why was she thinking that icy blue wasn't anywhere near as piercing as molten amber?

* * *

He hadn't been as zoned out as he lead people to believe. He liked them to assume he was, they were more prone to ignoring him when they did, but he wasn't. He'd been paying just as much attention to his surroundings as anyone else that morning, had seen Kagome enter the room. Had cursed his luck.

So this was why she'd seemed familiar.

Looking back on it, he could remember seeing her a few times before. He just hadn't cared. Then she'd just been some random girl, as popular and annoying as anyone else. She hadn't been any concern of his and he'd promptly forgotten her as soon as she'd registered.

He doubted he'd be forgetting her any time soon, no matter how appealing the prospect.

He'd been on the verge of cursing when she'd turned towards him, finally allowed him to be so much as a blip on her radar, and had been infinitesimally glad when she'd continued on to her desk. He wasn't sure just what she'd planned to say, if anything, or if she'd even planned it at all. Maybe she'd just recently realized his presence in the room and considered saying something, though what he couldn't imagine.

Either way, she hadn't. Oh well, it wasn't like It was some great loss. If the past was any indication, it wouldn't have been anything positive anyways.

He watched her for a moment, his gaze following her back to her seat, watched her sit down, dig her books out.

No, he thought as he watched Koga catch her attention, it most definitely wouldn't have been anything good.

He fought back a growl as the sight of Koga, at the look he was giving her. At the way his face had morphed from cold and hard to what he supposed she found charming. At the way her eyes warmed back. She'd be just like any other girl, falling all over herself for a bit of his attention.

It was pathetic. A tribute to the stupidity that was mankind.

That they could love Koga, perhaps the school's biggest asshole, while despising him for simply existing.

Determined to put the obnoxious little princess from his mind, he turned his attention to the board. At the very least she'd get what was coming to her. If Koga's locker-room bragging held any truth, he'd have her panties off as soon as possible before moving right along to the next stupid, fawning, girl. And they deserved it. After all, it wasn't as if he kept his conquests secrets. They were all fully aware of what they were getting into.

He got the sudden image of her standing there, her eyes wide and wet, lower lip trembling as she fought to hide the tears battling to escape down her cheeks. Watched as one succeeded.

The thought made him feel strange, though he didn't for the life of him know how. It wasn't anger or pity...not even disapproval. She was a hypocritical little bitch and if she wanted to lie to herself and get hurt that was her business. So what if she wanted to flounce around spouting all sorts of nonsense about love and hope?

Heh, he'd see how much she believed in all that after she'd been nailed and bailed like so many others.

He scowled as he found his eyes drifting back to her. At the sound of the bell, he forced his attention back to the front of the class content to put all thoughts of the prissy little princess from his mind.

For the time being anyways. He'd tried to rid his thoughts of her before, had been trying all week, and it only lasted for a few hours at the most. He didn't know why. It wasn't as if she'd done anything unusual. So what if a pretty girl had said some mean things, it wasn't the first time. Hell,it wouldn't be the last.

So why did her face keep barging in, unbidden, into his thoughts? Her eyes, wide and blue, her mouth so perfect and fragile, yet capable of such destruction.

Shaking the thoughts off, he turned his attention to the front of the room once more, determined to ignore her. Ignoring people was easy, especially when they ignored you in return.

It does, however, become slightly difficult when small pieces of paper are inconspicuously tossed to your desk. It was about fifteen minutes into class when it landed on his desk with a light tap. The paper had been folded a few times into a small rectangle, no doubt with writing on the inside.

He scowled down at it, wary. He'd gotten notes before. Vicious things filled with bile that had made him want to vomit. To track each and every person down and stuff the paper down their throats in hopes that the contents would be toxic enough to do away with them. He never had, but the urge was there, strong and raging.

Needless to say, his experience with notes were less than pleasant and he could only imagine what this one would hold. Or where it had come from. Flicking his eyes to the left, the direction from which it came, his eyes met the girl who sat next to him, some black haired girl who's name he hadn't bothered to know. She been staring at him, her eyes wide, her lip curled slightly in disgust, and had turned quickly away when he caught her eye. It was as if she'd shrank back against the seat, scooting to the farthest end of the chair as if afraid of catching some horrid disease.

Scowling at her behavior he looked back at the note, crumpling it in his fist before sending it to the ground. There was no need to read it when he was so sure of what it'd say.

* * *

Kagome frowned as he tossed the paper to the floor. He could have at least read it before discarding it. There wasn't anything wrong with it. Sighing, she tore another page from her notebook. He _would_ read her note. He had to.

* * *

Another one.

Once again he found himself scowling down at a small, folded, sheet of paper that had been tossed on his desk by that annoying girl besides him. The fourth one actually. She kept sneaking glances at him as if observing him like some creature in a zoo. And apparently he was a fascinating exhibit because he'd tried glaring at her three times already and each time the effects had been only temporary. Fighting the urge to throw the note at her head he picked it up. Whoever it was was So incredibly persistent. Crumpling it like all the others, he considered tossing it in his backpack with the rest, to be thrown away at a later date, but thought against it.

He was contemplating the note's fate when he felt them, eyes boring into the top of his head. Watching him. Probably the sender of the notes. If he had his guess, they probably weren't pleased that their insults were going unread. Glancing discreetly to the left, he found that for once that annoying girl was paying attention to the teacher rather than to him.

It was then that he flicked his gaze up.

It was her. That girl, Kagome.

Great. As if it wasn't bad enough she felt the need to insult him in public she'd taken to doing it in private too, via written words. Wonderful.

She was watching him, though she wasn't aware he knew so. She seemed anxious, impatient.

It was sickening.

He resisted the urge to growl, snatching the note in his fist, crushing it in his anger. Why was she so insistent on this? Was it really so much fun to watch him hurt? Fine then. He'd give her a show. Opening the note, he braced himself for what was to come.

_Don't you have a bell tower to hide in freak? Hurry before even God realizes you're not worth it._

_You're parents probably died just to get away from you ,loser._

_Why don't you go kill yourself, do us all a favor? _

_Just go die, freak._

Some were better than others, cut deeper, more precise. Some could be discarded fairly easily while some made him long to tear their throats out.

To tear his heart out.

So he was thoroughly surprised to read what was scrawled there in small, exasperated print.

_Inuyasha,_

_Stop throwing these damn notes away I'm running out of paper... Anyways, I need to talk to you. Please meet me after class._

__ Kagome_

He blinked, still frowning, before crumpling the paper once more and adding it to his backpack, to join the rest.

* * *

He didn't wait for her.

She'd spent half of class – and a good half a notebook- asking him to wait, to meet her after the bell, and he hadn't.

She had to admit, it was just a little irritating and despite her resolve to cool her temper he was seriously grating on her nerves. And if it wasn't bad enough he'd left, there was the speed with which he departed. Seriously, as soon as the bell rang he'd been out the door and quite possibly down the hall... or wherever it was he was going...

And it probably would have annoyed her just a smidge more if not for the fact that Koga's exit had been unusually prompt as well. A fact that was niggling in the back of her mind, whispering little anxieties in her ears. Between that and the looks he'd been shooting Inuyasha throughout the class she had a feeling of dread creeping up her spine.

He'd had his finger broken, and she couldn't help but feel he'd like to settle the score.

Or tip it in his favor...

Gathering up her books she slipped from the room, determined to find him before the bell rang. Coincidentally, it wasn't so hard. Turning the corner, she was met with a large crowd gathered around what she could only assume was Inuyasha. From their sick smiles she'd guess Koga wasn't getting any more fingers snapped.

It was always loud in the halls, crowded, so much so that this group didn't particularly stand out unless being sought. A perfect place for such a screwed up act.

Anxiously pushing her way through the crowd, she couldn't help but hear their giggles. See their anticipation. Their joy. And she couldn't help feeling nauseous at it. She couldn't see anything as she fought her way a little closer, the crowd thick, but she could hear. Beyond the noise of the students there was a thud, a somewhat sickening crack.

"How do you like that freak? Is this what you wanted?" Another thud, "Is this what you're asking for?"

She groaned, but couldn't see. It wasn't until the drone of the bell, a teacher calling from inside a classroom, unsure of what exactly it was that was happening, to break it up and get to class, that Koga made his retreat, the crowd dissolving with him, that she saw what had happened. The result of his anger.

To his credit, Inuyasha was still standing, slouched against a row of lockers. But his legs were shaking a bit, his lip bleeding, one arm wrapped around his stomach. His face was down, his bangs shading his eyes, and for a second she found she was glad. His eyes were too intense, the emotion within too strong. They were eyes that had haunted her for days.

And yet some small, irrational part of her wanted to see them again.

She took a step forwards, her shoes making the slightest scuff on the linoleum, but it was enough. His head shot up, his eyes furious. Hot, like liquid amber, but she saw the flicker of pain as his body tensed, clearly ready for attack. Caught his slight grimace.

"Inuyasha-"

"It's you."

He cut her off, spitting the words like something dirty, sparking her ire just a bit, but she forced it down. It wouldn't do to fight with him now, and she couldn't bring herself to want to. Not when he was standing there, struggling to do so. Besides, it was just as well he'd cut her off ; She hadn't know what she'd have said anyways.

So instead she settled for, "You know, if you'd just met me after class this wouldn't have happened."

That's where she was wrong, why she should just go the fuck away. That right there proved she didn't know anything. Because this would have happened, one way or the other. The only difference was that she would have had a front row seat.

He didn't bother to respond, rather sending her a glare meant to send her running...or melt her into the floor. One of the two, before sweeping his gaze across the floor to where his books lay scattered, his backpack open a few feet away. Papers littered the floor, most prominently his Algebra II homework. All 7 pages. Muttering curses under his breath he bent, ignoring the throbbing pain in his stomach, where he was sure he'd find the imprint of Koga's boot.

She bit her lip as she watched him practically fall to his knees to gather his belongings. Watched the pain play across his features, sure that it'd be dancing in his eyes as well. His head, however was lowered once again.

Taking a deep breath she dropped to the floor besides him, gathering up papers. Instantly his hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. "What are you doing?"

She narrowed her eyes, "I'm just helping you pick it up. That's all. I swear."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why the hell are you doing this?"

"Because we're already late-"

"Why won't you just leave me the fuck alone?"

"Because I need to talk to you damn it!"

She was yelling now, the papers in her hand now bunched tightly in her fist. She didn't know whether or not they were anything important and frankly at the moment she didn't care. She'd been taking deep breaths, reigning in her temper, but it wasn't something she excelled at. "Because someone wouldn't meet me after class! And yeah, my track record isn't all that great but come on! And- and do you have any idea how many trees you wasted?"

"You're the one who kept writing-"

"Well you wouldn't read them!"

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because I have something important to say!"

"What? What the fuck is so damn important that you absolutely have to say to me?"

"I'm sorry you bastard!"

He blinked, his expression slipping into palpable shock. It was quickly smoothed away, but she could still sense the tenseness of his posture, see the startled distrust in is eyes. She was breathing heavily now, the hand crushing the papers having been slammed against the floor, but she was slowly cooling down.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry." When he didn't respond she continued. "Look, I shouldn't have said what I said. It was mean and stupid and... I'm just sorry about it."

She began to gather the papers around her, stacking them into a neat little pile, smoothing the crumpled papers from her hands onto the top. A nervous gesture if she'd ever seen one, but at least it was productive.

His own eyes narrowed in suspicion as he stare at her, emotions warring within him. He found himself at a complete loss.

No one had ever apologized to him.

Not since the accident.

And he honestly didn't know how to respond.

"Yeah", he snarled, viciously snapping up a nearby paper. "And I should believe you."

Yeah right? Like that would happen. And why the hell should it? Why should he believe her? This one girl who'd done nothing but make his life hell since their first encounter. It made no sense whatsoever. Why the hell would this one, pretty little princess take time out of her day to regret saying something to him. Anything, much less something cruel. Something that had haunted his mind for the remainder of the day.

Why the hell should she care when no one else did?

"You don't have to", she replied briskly, irritation nettling at her tone. "I'm not going to make you. I just wanted to say it...it needed to be said."

"Why?"

"Because!", she snapped, before halting herself suddenly. Before realizing that while his tone was still gruff, disbelieving, there was a hint of something else. Curiosity. He wasn't trying to be an ass, he was honestly confused.

And that alone was enough to soften her tone. "Because I really am sorry about it. I don't like being a bitch." She gathered the pile in her hand, tapping them against the floor to even them out. "I really don't _like_ being mean. I just...say stuff, when I get mad. I don't really mean it...I just..." Tearing her gaze from the papers she brought them up to meet his. "I'm just sorry. That's all."

He stared at her, his eyes perfect and golden and guarded, but inside he was churning. Shaken. Worst of all, he believed her. He kept waiting for malice, for disgust, or distaste, but he saw none. She hadn't stared at his disfigurements or curled her lip. She was looking at him, in his eyes, telling him she was sorry for causing him pain. That she regretted it.

That she hadn't _wanted_ to hurt him. At least, that hadn't been her original intention.

She was saying these things with her voice soft and perhaps a little embarrassed, her eyes wide and honest. Exactly the opposite of how she'd looked a minute ago, with her eyes snapping at him, her cheeks flushed with frustration.

He had no clue what to do about her.

Turning he scoffed, but there wasn't must malice injected into it. At least, not as much as he'd intended, leaning painfully over, just enough to grab his backpack and shove things into it. To give him something to do. Something to distract himself from the words bouncing around in his head, the soft words that whispered around his mind. Words not meant to hurt but to...soothe.

"You really are gloomy aren't you?"

He blinked once, his face contorting into it's customary scowl once more and he whirled around to face her, small dots dancing before his vision as his stomach protested the action. He clamped his jaw shut for a minute,his teeth grinding together, forcing it back. He couldn't, however, stop the immediate reaction, his arm flinging itself around the area protectively. He was, sure she noticed, and he'd be right, but she wisely didn't say anything, instead allowing him to snap, "Gee, ya think? Because I'd thought my life was going just swell."

Surprisingly, however, she found herself just sitting there, watching him, her temper calm and un-nettled. Her eyes rising to meet his ,watching the anger and bitterness that resided there and she still felt the familiar pang of regret for her words, wishing more than very that she could take them back. Take them out of existence.

There was far too much bitterness in those eyes.

Bitterness and pain.

"Do you ever smile?"

"Because there's so much to smile about?" He yanked his zipper closed rather violently.

And that was when it happened. It was unprompted, unplanned, and completely un-thought out, but at the moment it seemed the most natural thing in the world.

"I'll make you smile."

"You'll what?"

She took a deep breath, refusing to listen to the part of her yelling that this was a bad idea. That she was off her rocker and should be committed somewhere. Somewhere nice, with padded walls. No, instead she put on her most determined face, committing herself to the spontaneous task.

"I'll make you smile." She decided.

"Good luck."

"I can!" she insisted. "I'll bet you."

"Bet what? And why should I accept?"

"Because I'll bet anything! Anything you want. We decide after one of us – you- loses."

"Oh yeah?" He felt an eyebrow arch, his lips twisting into a sardonic grin. "Well what do you know? You've won already."

"No", she whispered, her heart aching just a little, her tone suddenly morphing from confident to sad. "That doesn't count." It couldn't. It was hard and cold and bitter, with perhaps the slightest hint of some twisted amusement. There was nothing even resembling joy anywhere to be found and so she couldn't count that as a smile. It wasn't even close. "A real smile. Something happy."

Her voice was naught but a whisper I the silent hallway. "What do you say?"

If you were to ask him later, he couldn't have told you what made him agree. He'd have called himself an idiot, and hell he probably was. But for some unknown reason, he found himself uttering the three words to seal his fate.

"You're on princess."

* * *

**THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT PLEASE READ! Okay, now that I have you're attention, I'll get right to the point. IM STUCK! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I need things that can happen in this fic. Events. Because honestly, after this chapter, all I've figured out is the scene where they get together and perhaps a few others far in the future. But anyways, I need things that can happen. With Inuyasha and Kagome, with Sesshomaru, with Sango and Miroku. And when I ask I don't mean "I want Inuyasha and Miroku to repair their friendship" because that's not happening in the next chapter and doesn't really help me. I appreciate all reviews, I LOVE AND THRIVE OFF THEM! but I love the long, helpful ones the most! **

**Anyways, other than that, let me know how this chapter went. If I laid it on too thick etc... I can make corrections. I don't want to be OOC because I'm in a seemingly eternal writer's funk.**

**ONE LAST THING! I am planning 2 more fics. They are Naruto ad Bleach, so if you don't like those feel free to disregard the rest of this announcement. Also, for those of you who are still here, they are shounen-ai. GaaXNaru, and IchigoXShirosaki. Both should be very cute...as long as your not opposed to Yaoi. Anyways, when they get put up ( because I am a bad author who puts up stuff when I already have so many unfinished already...) you should check them out!**

**Much love!**

**_Redfaerie**

Song: Two Worlds

Movie: Tarzan

Put your faith in what you most believe in  
Two worlds, one family  
Trust your heart  
Let fate decide  
To guide these lies we see

A paradise untouched by man  
Within this worlds blessed with love  
A simple life, they live in peace

Softly tread the sand below your feet now  
Two worlds, one family  
Trust your heart  
Let fate decide  
To guide these lives we see

Beneath the shelter of the trees  
Only love can enter here  
A simple life, they live in peace

Raise your head up  
Lift high the load  
Take strength from those that need you  
Build high the walls  
Build strong the beams  
A new life is waiting  
But danger's no stranger here

No words describe a mother's tears  
No words can heal a broken heart  
A dream is gone, but where there's hope

Somewhere something is calling for you  
Two worlds, one family  
Trust your heart  
Let fate decide  
Tu guide these lives we see  



End file.
